"Transnational cooperation funding is decisive in making macro-regional strategies work".

The Alpine Space programme co-finances projects in which strong complementarities with the EU strategy for the Alpine Region (EUSALP) are sought. The projects provide targeted solutions designed for the Alpine region, bridging gaps between local/national and EU-wide initiatives.

AlpGov: implementing Alpine governance mechanisms of the European Strategy for the Alpine Region

Since its start, the European Strategy for the Alpine Region (EUSALP) has been contributing to multi-level cooperation between Alpine States and Regions. Nine action groups are dealing with the different priorities identified within the strategy.

The AlpGov project serves as the main tool for making EUSALP governance operable and effective. In its supporting role, it strengthens horizontal cooperation among action groups and empowers them to involve relevant fields of expertise and civil society. The project also collects and shares knowledge by providing a professional tool, thejoint EUSALP knowledge platform, while establishing a dialogue with financing and funding instruments to boost implementation initiatives and promoting further development of tailor-made governance approaches for single action groups to improve their effects.

Furthermore, AlpGov triggers the development of concrete implementation initiatives by providing resources and clarifying political or financial frame conditions in a transnational context, with a view to securing a sustainable and livable future of the Alpine Region.

GoApply: multidimensional governance of climate change

One of the major challenges for the Alpine Space is climate change. This area is particularly vulnerable to variations in weather and climatic conditions. Here, events like receding glaciers, heavy rainfalls and the reduction of permafrost soils tend to appear sooner than on the global level, to be particularly intense and to affect the very delicate environment. Since these processes cannot be reversed, adaptation becomes a priority for the Alpine region. The Alpine countries have already developed climate adaptation strategies, yet capacities for implementing them and integrating them into sectoral policies are scarce everywhere. The situation is even worse on the local level, where this theme is hardly present in policy-makers’ agendas.

To tackle these challenges, GoApply sets up a new adaptation model coordinating governance levels, integrating policies across sectors and providing best practices maps. This work will help reach the goals of the Action Group 8 of the EU Strategy for the Alpine Region (EUSALP AG8), whose aim is “to improve risk management and to better manage climate change, including major natural risk prevention”. “The inputs of GoApply will contribute to achieving three AG8 objectives;”EUSALP AG8 co-leader Florian Rudolf-Miklau explains, “paving the ground for shared and improved adaptation policies and governance approaches; supporting synergies between risk management and climate change adaptation; and extending the contents of the online portal “CAPA – Climate Adaptation Platforms for the Alps”.

2nd EUSALP Annual Forum

The2nd EUSALP Annual Forum 2018 was held on 20 and 21 November 2018 at Congress Innsbruck.

The event, based upon the motto "shaping.future.together.with the next generation", was jointly organised by the Tyrolean EUSALP Presidency and the European Commission Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy to set future goals and projects of the macroregional strategy for the Alpine Region.

The Alpine Space programme participated in this Annual Forum with an interactive#MadeWithInterreg stand, where transnational cooperation was introduced and participants shared their thoughts and messages for the Alps. The stand also featured objects from the projects LOS_DAMA!, CaSCO, GaYA and PlurALPS to trigger interaction and discussion about the project activities.

Two Alpine Space projects were part of the official programme with award ceremonies: In the frame of PlurAlps, the Alpine Pluralism Award 2018 was handed out, aiming to increase the visibility of innovative integration projects and provide inspiration.

The CaSCO project recognised outstanding construction intiatives in the Alpine Space based on innovation, transferability and reduction of CO2 with the Alpine Regional Timber Award.The winners were institutions that procure or implement (partly) wooden buildings or urban furniture made from regional timber that derives from sustainably managed forests.

The forum was also the occasion to announce the winners of the "pitch your project" competition by the European Commission, awarding project ideas of young people aged 16 to 25 for a sustainable, attractive and modern Alpine Region. While the finalists had been selected by a jury, the audience of the forum could vote live for the three winners. Congratulations to all!

The European Commision has launched a competition for 18-year-olds to explore Europe in 2019.

After the success of the first round, which gave 15,000 young people the opportunity to explore European cultures and traditions, the European Commission has organised a second round with 12,000 travel passes available.

Young people aged 18 can apply for a travel pass to travel around Europe next summer. Registration is open until 11 December.